Deal reached to cut nuclear arms

MOSCOW — President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced the framework Monday for a new nuclear arms control treaty that would cut U.S. and Russian strategic arsenals — a move Obama hopes will amount to leading by example in the fight against nuclear proliferation.

The nuclear cuts — designed to be a centerpiece of Obama’s first summit with the Russian president here — would reduce the number of deployed nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 per side, down from a range of 1,700 to 2,200 warheads agreed upon in 2002.

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In addition, both sides would reduce the number of nuclear delivery vehicles to 500 to 1,100, down from a maximum of 1,600.

“We resolved to reset U.S.-Russian relations so that we can cooperate more effectively in areas of common interest,” Obama said, using a term — reset — that his administration has adopted to describe attempts to fashion a new relationship with Russia.

“There are areas where we still disagree,” Obama said, singling out Russia’s stance on Georgia. But Obama added, “The president and I agreed that the relationship between Russia and the United States has suffered from a sense of drift. President Medvedev and I are committed to leaving behind the suspicion and the rivalry of the past.”

Medvedev said of the arms control agreement, “The work was very intensive and I must admit that our teams, our delegations, worked on this subject in a very fruitful way. They have showed reasonable compromise.”

Obama has made stopping the spread of nuclear weapons a key goal of his administration, as laid out in a speech in Prague in April. The Obama administration sees the agreement to reduce nuclear stockpiles as a big step in that process; by giving up nuclear weapons, the thinking goes, the United States can argue that other countries should as well.

Obama is hoping to enlist Russia’s help to put pressure on Iran and North Korea to give up their nuclear ambitions.

Medvedev signaled an openness to confronting the twin threats, saying, “It’s our common, joint responsibility and we should make our utmost to prevent any negative trends there. And we are ready to do that. Our negotiations with President Obama have demonstrated that we share the same attitude towards this problem.”

But there was one area of continuing disagreement — the U.S. missile shield. Russia has vigorously opposed U.S. plans to install a European missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. At the news conference, Medvedev called it “a difficult subject for our discussion.”

Obama didn’t budge, saying that the U.S. position is that the system is designed not to shoot down Russian missiles — Obama called it “a mighty Russian arsenal” — but to protect the United States from missiles from Iran, North Korea and elsewhere. For that reason, Obama said, the United States doesn’t see a reason to link the offensive and defensive missiles.

“I believe U.S. and Russian positions on this issue can be reconciled,” Obama said. “But it’s going to take hard work, because it requires breaking down long-standing suspicions.”

The two nations also announced an agreement by which Russia will allow U.S. troops and weapons headed to Afghanistan to go through Russian airspace.

The 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, negotiated by then-Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin, was criticized because it lacked a verification regime.

While the cuts under discussion are relatively modest, Obama advisers are insisting that any new treaty with the Russians will have a monitoring scheme that would replace verification procedures agreed to in 1991 as part of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. That pact is set to expire in December.

U.S. officials indicated over the weekend that they are considering a temporary agreement that would keep verification procedures in place even if a new treaty has not been ratified by then.